The brutal attack in Vienna on July 7, 2024, which left seven young men from Afghanistan seriously injured, was a case of fatal mistaken identity, according to the subsequent investigation. The incident, which saw victims stabbed—one “near his heart”—and another suffer a “minor brain hemorrhage,” was the culmination of escalating street battles and gang rivalry in the city over the summer.
The attackers, a group of dozens of youths who “partially masked their faces” and armed themselves with “knives, hammers, telescopic batons, and brass knuckles,” set off for the vicinity of Meidling train station.
There, they chased down and brutally assaulted the young, unsuspecting Afghan men. However, it turns out the Afghans were not the intended targets of the attack. Instead, the Chechens who allegedly gathered, were out to exact revenge on a group of Syrians.
Over the summer, street battles between Chechens and Syrians in Vienna had escalated, with young Syrians, as Chechens making headlines across the country for their large-scale battles and reprisals in the city.
At the time, the violence was so bad that Dominik Nepp, chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party in Vienna, called on the military to be deployed.
“The only solution left to restore order is the deployment of the military,” he said.
The small park near Meidling train station was known as a meeting place for young Syrians, which is why the armed group, including several Chechens, showed up there.
After months of investigations under Operation “Peacebringer,” a total of 24 young men, aged between 16 and 25, will face trial. The 94-page indictment, obtained by Der Standard, includes charges of intentional grievous bodily harm and aggravated assault.
The prosecution focuses on 25-year-old Chechen Abubakar D., who has multiple previous convictions. Der Standard reports he is suspected of being the alleged mastermind behind the mass stabbing and assault.
According to the indictment, Abubakar D. had developed a hostile attitude toward Syrians and publicly invited people to a so-called “conference” on Instagram just days before the attack. Prosecutors say that he plotted on the “elimination” of the Syrian group and scheduled a day for the attack to take place.
At this conference, Abubakar D. allegedly delivered a detailed plan, which was then spread through Telegram and other channels.
At the agreed meeting point, “at least 30 attackers allegedly gathered,” according to the prosecution, and Abubakar D. gave “the signal to attack.”
Abubakar D. admits the conference took place in police interrogations but claims “no calls for violence were made there,” a claim the public prosecutor’s office considers a “pure fabrication.”
Chats reportedly contradict his account. In one conversation, a defendant referred to Abubakar D. as the leader, while stating: “Our leader, I’ll say, he’s got a whistle. We’ll punch and stab until he whistles again, and then we run away.”
Abubakar D. has multiple prior convictions for similar offenses, including membership in a criminal organization and a terrorist association. He recently received a non-legally binding 10-year sentence for bank robbery and money laundering, and now faces up to 15 years in prison in this new case.
The second main perpetrator is an 18-year-old Chechen, who can be seen in a recorded video “repeatedly punching and kicking one of the victims.” He has a prior conviction for robbery but will be treated as a juvenile, halving his potential maximum sentence to five years.
The remaining 22 defendants are considered accomplices, with 18 having “no prior convictions.” A court date has not yet been set.
The gang conflict has resulted in other significant convictions: a trial related to the so-called Viennese “gang wars” ended this May. The 30-year-old first defendant, who allegedly shot a Syrian man in a Brigittenau park two days before the Meidling attacks, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempted murder.
